Frequently Asked Questions

 

My horse gets supplements with his dinner. Will you feed those to him?  
We do not feed supplements as part of our basic care board package. You are welcome to feed them to your horse when you are at the barn. We do offer to feed supplements or medication once per day for an additional charge or as part of our full care package. Please see our current price list for more info.

I like for my horse to always have hay in his stall to eat.  Do you feed free choice hay?  
We do not feed free choice hay. We feed two to three flakes of grass hay morning and night. This is plenty of hay to keep our horses healthy and happy. 

I like to feed my horse a snack when I stop by the barn to visit him.  Can I do that?  
We do all of our feeding so that we can be sure it is done correctly.  If you want to keep a "snack" of beet pulp or alfalfa cubes, etc. in YOUR TACK AREA in a closed plastic container and give this as a snack when you are at the barn, you are welcome to do so.  However, we ask that you NEVER feed from our supply of feed or grain at any time.

My horse has to eat a special type of grain.  Will you feed it to my horse?  
We encourage you to research Nutrena Safe Choice feeds.  We feel that Nutrena feeds are a top quality feed. We are former Nutrena dealers and will be glad to discuss the nutritional benefits of this feed with you. We prefer to only feed our Nutrena feed to ensure that your horse is always fed properly.

I stopped by to turn my horse out and there was another horse on the pasture already.  Can I just turn my horse out with that horse?  
No. Unless you have permission from the owner, you should never turn your horse out with another horse.  We have plenty of turnout spaces and horses rotate out every 4-6 hours. 

I have three saddles, two tack trunks and four different blankets for my horse along with several brush boxes, two totes with shipping boots and wraps, my tall boots, beet pulp, four supplements,  and a medicine kit. Can I store all of this at the barn?
We provide a space in the tack room to hold two saddles, several pads, several bridles, a brush box and room for a few more basic items needed for daily use.  Beyond that, you will need to store your extra items at home or in your trailer. Any tack trunks or saddle trunks you may have must fit in the allotted space in the tack room or you will need to use something else to store your belongings. We think you will find that you have plenty of room to store the items you use on a regular basis in the tack room with no trouble.

I am on the basic care board plan. I am going on vacation for a week.  Can you clean my stall and turn my horse out while I am gone?
Yes, we offer "vacation" options.  We will clean your stall and turn your horse out for a small fee.

I have been on basic care board, but I need to go out of town for several months.  What should I do?  
Just let us know and we will be happy to increase your services to full care while you are away.  You can drop back to basic care board when you are back in town.

I am on the basic care board plan and clean my own stall. Who is responsible for cleaning my water bucket?
If you are cleaning your own stall, you should also clean your water bucket.  Full Care Board includes cleaning your water bucket regularly.

I am going to be out of town for several months. What will happen if my horse gets sick?  
If you horse gets sick or injured, we will be glad to call the vet and care for your horse as instructed by the vet until you return.  There is generally a charge of between $5 and $30 per day for this care depending on what your horse needs for recovery. It is important that you leave your credit card on file with the vet before you go.

I am cleaning my own stall and my stall floor has developed a hole in the "wet spot." Will you haul in more clay to level up my stall for me?
We provide red clay for stall flooring. If you are cleaning your own stall, we will leave it up to you to maintain your stall floor. You are encouraged to use the clay provided to keep your stall floor level. You are also encouraged to purchase a stall mat to place over the "wet spot" to help prevent holes. You are also encouraged to use plenty of shavings in your stall. It is our experience that stalls with a mat over the wet spot, plenty of shavings and careful cleaning does not develop holes in the stall floor very often. We do offer a service of adding clay to your stall. See our current price list for details.

My paddock has become "mucky."  Will you clean it out for me with the tractor and haul in another load of fresh clay to level it back up?
If you are cleaning your own stall, it is your responsibility to clean your paddock. The footing in our paddocks is red clay. When packed down and kept free from manure, it is a fairly hard, clean surface that holds up well. However, when manure or shavings from the stall are allowed to accumulate in the paddock, rain water causes a layer of muck which quickly mixes with the top layer of clay. The result is a mess. To make sure this doesn't happen, it is important that you clean your paddock several times per week.  This will maintain your paddock indefinitely. If you do not keep your paddock clean and it gets out of hand, we will clean it for you for a fee and ask that you to pay for our stall cleaning services in the future so that your paddock will be sure to stay clean. Please understand that we do not like to seem overbearing about this issue, but paddock cleaning and maintenance is not only a costly issue but also a time consuming chore that is completely preventable. We appreciate our boarders' help in maintaining their paddocks for the health of their horse. (FYI: At last check, a load of clay is around $200 to repair a paddock base.)

I am cleaning my own stall but lately I have only been able to get to it about once per week. Is that okay?
​No. Stalls need to be cleaned at a minimum of 3-4 times per week. Stalls that are continually dirty and/or wet are not acceptable. Owners will be asked to increase to full care board if their schedule does not allow them to clean their stalls regularly and frequently. 

I am going out of town with my horse for the weekend to a show.  Can I grab a bag of feed and 5 bales of hay for the trip?  
No, you will not need that much feed.  We will send a bale of hay with you for every 2 days you will be gone.  You can purchase more hay from us to take with you if you feel you will need it.  We ask that you only take the amount of grain you will need for the trip instead of a full bag.

I like for my horse to have two buckets for water in his stall. Is that okay?
Yes, you may add an additional water bucket to the stall, but you need to help us keep them clean.  It is our experience that the "second" water bucket tends to get dirty very quickly because it is rarely used. We like to keep large tubs of water in the paddocks as horses tend to keep those cleaner and they seem to prefer to drink from them. We find these tubs generally provide plenty of additional water.

My horse cribs. Will you accept cribbers?
Any horse that cribs must wear a cribbing collar at all times.  We also prefer that cribbers are on our full care board.

I just rescued an underweight horse. Will you help me fatten him up?
Yes, as long as your horse has all of his shots and is healthy, we will gladly accept him and work with you to put weight on him.  However, we will ask you to help us out by providing extra hay and/or supplements such as Nutrena Empower, beet pulp, timothy pellets, etc. to help the horse gain weight along with the top quality feed that we will provide.

I like for my horse to eat his hay out of a hay net. Will you put his hay in a hay net?
No, we have hay barrels or racks in every stall for feeding hay.

Can I drop my child off at the barn to ride his/her horse and come back later?
No. We ask parents to be at the barn when their child is riding their horse.  We prefer for parents to try and be at the barn as much as possible when their child is here.  It is always best for minors to be supervised.

Does the barn require that we wear a helmet when we ride?
We ask that minors always wear a helmet when mounted.  We prefer that adults do the same, but it is not required.  We do require all riders to have a signed rider release form on file.

Can I park my trailer at your barn?
Yes, this is included in your board package.

My horse is fine on just a pasture. Do you offer just pasture board?  
No. We prefer for our horses to have shelter at all times.

I like to feed and care for my horse myself. Can I just rent a stall?  
No. We do not offer this type of boarding option.

I have ridden horses all my life and I used to teach a few beginner lessons at my old barn and I trained my friend's horse. Can I teach a few lessons on my horse at your facility or possibly offer to train horses for other boarders?
We host several approved and insured instructors and/or trainers at our stables. While we are always open to forming new relationships with horse professionals, we do not allow "freelance" lessons or training at our farm. If you are interested in teaching lessons within our program or offering your services as a trainer, please talk with us about that possibility first. Our primary focus is boarding horses, and we primarily look to bring in customers who just want to be boarders.